Get that Glass of Milk Ready, You’re About to Enter Cookie Heaven

Cookie Monster’s dream-come-true, Beijing’s sweet tooths are in for a real treat this coming weekend. An event designed for insatiable cookie addicts and have a bottomless pit for homemade, stuff-your-face-silly cookies, we’re all about that cookie.

But I’m not just talking about any cookie. I’m talking 20 different types of creative cookies, each one made from scratch by 20 brilliant bakers based in Beijing. There will be more than your fair share of cookies to munch your way through, it really doesn’t get much better than this!

From chewy and gooey to saltycookies, vegan cookies and crafty variations of your classic Chocolate Chip cookies, we are very proud to announce the top contestants who have made the cut and will be competing in this year’s Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off!

Scarlet A is a Welcome Addition to Gulou’s Growing Bar Scene

After a long Friday working remotely out of Cafe Zarah, I was ready for a drink to get my weekend started. But with a low tolerance for alcohol, I need to make every cocktail count. There are so many bars popping up around town and Scarlet A was on my hit list of new places to try. Conveniently located just a few doors down from Cafe Zarah, on the main road of Gulou Dongdajie, you’d think this would be an easy spot and yet I still managed to walk past it.

So take this lesson learned from me and remember what the entrance looks like (photo below) because the sign for this speakeasy cocktail bar is clearly not meant to stand out (it doesn’t even come out in my photo). Something to look out for and help you spot the door is the wooden staircase that leads into Scarlet A. Stepping inside, don’t be fooled by the floor to ceiling steel shelf – it’s a sliding door that pulls from right to left and opens into a sleek bar with illuminated shelves to spotlight their bottle selection. But with only a few bar stools in this space, you can continue through another sliding door, that leads into a mini open courtyard space, that leads into their main lounge area. A cozy space that seats about 20, there’s a sofas on one side of the room with a few stools and arm chairs.

Underground BUNKER Parties Return to Beijing!

What started off as a Cold War-era bomb shelter party near the Lama Temple for friends and friends-of-friends quickly morphed into Fight Club Boxing Parties, Black & White Summer parties with over 500+ party ragers and a hot mess like you’ve never seen before in Beijing with a food fights of over 1,000kg of messy, slimy tomatoes, watermelons, and water balloons.

She definitely makes the Splash Wars Party look more Glamorous than I imagine it was…

FOOD FIGHT with 1,000kg of tomatoes, watermelons and water balloons

The Bunker team started off with 4 back-to-back volumes of underground bunker party raves where funky grunge parties began with models covered head-to-toe in glow-in-the-dark body paint and quickly escalated to custom-built boxing rings with sumo suits and oversized boxing gloves, they’re now celebrating the hottest month of summer with a “Splash Wars” food fight at Dos Kolegas this coming Sunday, July 6 from 1-9PM.

“Beijing’s first massive food fight. With 1,000kg of tomatoes, watermelons, and water balloons, you and your friends can go crazy on our outside dance floor. Taking the concept of “La Tomatina”, a world-famous food fight in Spain featuring 50,000 people launching tomatoes at each other, a step farther, SPLASH WARS will also be an all-day pool dance party, with pumping sets by our classic lineup of techno and underground house DJs.” – Jerry Guo, Bunker Party Organizer

Black & White Summer Party in the Dark

After 4 volumes of underground bunker party raves where funky grunge parties began with models covered head-to-toe in glow-in-the-dark body paint and quickly escalated to custom-built boxing rings with sumo suits and oversized boxing gloves, this summer brings Beijing’s first ever all-white party in the dark called BLACK + WHITE (get it?!).

Classing it up and requiring all attendees to be dressed in ALL white, remember that this is still a dark, underground rave party that will rage on all night until the wee hours of the morning (if you’re planning on a big one, remember to bring your sunglasses as the sun is fully shining by 6AM).

Family Photo Op at theBeijinger’s 9th Annual Reader Restaurant Awards

Taking place from 11:30AM-2PM, the restaurant awards got my week off to a great start with a nice break on my mid-day on Monday with more food, sweets and ice cream I could have hoped for. I was most impressed with the chocolate covered strawberries, chewy cookies and desserts by Sweet Tooth. I’m just thankful I had the self-control to resist drinking from the free flowing beer, wines, cocktails sponsored by Grand Marnier, Chimay, Leffe and Hoegaarden.

Always a grand affair, this year seemed bigger than ever with a very large crowd of both F&B big-heads and die-hard foodies. And it makes sense considering the amount of restaurants that were nominated and the strong readership who submitted ballots (thanks to social media platforms like Weibo, theBeijinger was really successful in reaching a broader audience this year).

Enjoy a Delicious Cup of Hot Chocolate at Alba Cafe & Bar

There are only a handful of places in Beijing where I’d pick to enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate and Alba Cafe & Bar is at the top of that list. I used to be a big fan of Colibri in Sanlitun North Village, but since that cat’s out the bag, it’s now jam-packed all day, every day and I really can’t relax in a place so crowded. Colibri still remains at the top of my list for coffee spots to meet up and have a quick chat, but Cafe Alba is where I prefer to venture to if I want to enjoy my hot chocolate in a laid back, relatively quiet environment with wifi and a book. The hot chocolate is served hot, it’s served in a big ceramic mug and the top is covered in a layer of whipped cream and sprinkled with cocoa powder. It’s perfect for what it is and Alba should get credit for that.

Hot chocolate aside, Alba is a quaint little cafe and bar on Gulou Dongdajie 鼓楼东大街 just a few hundred meters west of Cafe Zarah (which is also always packed on any given day). The food and drinks at Alba are generally decent and reasonably priced. I’ve definitely had better salads, sandwiches, desserts and snacks elsewhere, but it’s a good second option to Cafe Zarah and it’s one of the best cafes in the Gulou area.

I’ve not sat down for a full-on meal at Alba, but I’ve tried a few dishes off their food menu like their sandwiches and pastas. Most recently, I tried their twice baked potatoes, which was delicious and I loved the unexpected side of cooked tomato covered with melted cheese and stuffed with diced veggies and corn. That was very YUM and if I could, I would order just that tomato on it’s own!